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Awful Bass Rattle in 2012 Fiesta

n8hopp

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What I Drive
2012 Base Fiesta
#1
Heyo! I drive a 2012 fiesta, base model. No rear speakers.

Probably around 2 years ago I started experiencing the dreaded radio popping that so many with Fiestas tend to experience. Not having the money at the time to replace the stereo, I ended up just unplugging it from the dash to avoid the issue altogether.

About a year ago I ended up buying an OEM replacement stereo on Ebay, and in the process, also bought a pair of 6.5" Sony speakers for the front mids. Within a week, the Ebay stereo stopped working, I returned it, and since then, I've had no stereo in my car. I've been relying on a godawful bluetooth speaker for my tunes :(

The way I installed the aftermarket speakers was interesting, though - I didn't have the time or energy to run new speaker wire to the stereo at the time, so I took the cheap way out, cutting the OEM speakers out of the frame they came in, snipping the wire, and soldering the new speaker's wires to the original frame. They sounded fine for the week I actually had the Ebay stereo working.

Recently, I got an aftermarket stereo (as well as the Metra faceplate, wiring harness, etc) for Christmas. After a little bit of trouble I got it working - but much to my dismay, the bass on the speakers is terrible. Like, sounds as if they're rattling constantly. Almost as if they're blown (but they aren't, since the rest of the audio sounds fine. It's just bass rattle).

Could this be an issue regarding power to the speakers? I.e. would the stock speakers have a different resistance from the aftermarket ones, and the rattle is something electrical? Or is it more than likely something relating to the mounting of the frame itself (and I need to just remount / retighten the screws holding it in place?)

In all honesty, I'm just dreading opening the door panels again. Those things do NOT like to come off easy.

Thank you in advance.
 

econoboxrocks

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'17 ST
#2
I'd guess that the speakers don't match the unit. See what ohms, watts, etc., it's supposed to run with.
 
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n8hopp

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2012 Base Fiesta
Thread Starter #3
1640651862313.png 1640651884762.png
Here are the specs for the speaker and the head unit, respectively. Looking it up, the stock speakers are 25W, 4Ohm. The stock tweeters (which I still have) I can't find any info about in regards to their draw. I think the head unit and speakers are compatible? But I have a hard time comparing the data between these two.
 

econoboxrocks

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#4
Have you tried turning down the bass, or do they just sound all distorted and blown?
 
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n8hopp

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Thread Starter #5
Turned bass all the way down and it sounded fine, just without bass. It's definitely a bass / rattle issue, not an actually blown speaker issue.
 

Handy Andy

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#6
Then that means the spyder cage you put them in is in dire need of a reboot.

More than likely it is the looseness of the speaker and the cone "throw" (the length or distance it moves in its cage) striking or moving against the front grille - can't move enough air so instead of it being stationary and moving air around it - it moves and rattles instead.

Just some clearance fixing, and you should be ok.
 
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